The Gift of You

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The Gift of You

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On July 4, 2020, Southeast SDA Senior Pastor Stanley Hood delivered the powerful message “The Gift of You,” the first in a month- long sermon series entitled, “The Gift.”

The Gift of You, preached from I Kings chapters 12 and 13, begins with a cautionary tale of jealousy, disobedience and deceit. Focusing initially on King Jeroboam (Israel), a man who allowed jealousy to cloud his judgment and ultimately disobey God and a man of God, raised up from Judah to address that disobedience, but was duped and allowed association to rob him of his anointing.

This powerful story weaves the tale of a jealous king who fears his nations will abandon him once they make a pilgrimage to Judah to worship the Lord, so he disobeys God and devises a scheme to build golden calves and centrally locate them close to the people. He convinces Israel that going to Jerusalem is “too hard to climb—let God come down to you.” God is not pleased and he raises a man of God from Judah to confront this wrong. The man of God enters the worship services presided over by the king and curses the altar, which incenses Jeroboam. In his anger, the king points at the man of God, only to have his arm locked in the extended position and his hand withers.

The king summons the man of God and pleads for his help. Through the power of God, the king’s arm is released and his hand is restored. He wants to reward the man of God and offers half his possessions and his hospitality, but the man of God rejects the offer and begins to return home to Judah, as the Lord had instructed him.

There is another prophet whose sons tell him the story of the man of God and the king. This prophet, jealous and curious about the man of God, takes off after him and finds him resting under a tree. The prophet lies to the man of God and tells him an angel instructed him to “bring him to your house.” The man of God at that moment falls for the deception and “trades his calling for association---he takes off his anointing and gives it back.” He disobeys God and follows the old prophet home.

Ironically, the old prophet begins to prophesy and tells the man of God, “You have disobeyed God and will not make it back to Judah.” The old prophet now feels guilty because he realizes he has duped the man of God and sends him away on his donkey with provisions for the trip. On the road back, the man of God sees a lion in the middle of the road. The lion kills the man of God, but does not eat him. The donkey just watches over the dead body of the man of God, occasionally glancing at the lion. The donkey and lion are both natural enemies, but do not make a move toward each other. These animals, less favored than humans, remain on assignment until released. They did not hesitate. They knew to obey God.

Three men suffered tragic consequences because they traded in their anointing for association. But what does this mean? Pastor Hood brings the message back to the title, “You are the Gift.” He stated that, “we have all done things we shouldn’t have done because we don’t know who we are.” Isa. 43:4 (New King James Version) speaks to who we are. “Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life.” 2 Tim. 2:19 further illustrates, “the Lord knows those who are his.” (New International Version)

Pastor Hood goes on to explain that, “Even if you don’t have everything right, everything right was put in you. You yourself don’t just carry a blessing, YOU ARE A BLESSING. You are the gift. The only way to keep yourself from being a blessing is to lower yourself to maintain association. Pastor Hood reminded us of this important truth, “God wants you to rise in what you were created to be.”

--Cecily Bryant The sermon series “The Gift” continues on July 11 with “The Gift of Joy,” on July 18 with “The Gift of Power” and on July 25th with “The Gift of Healing.”

Please plan to join us to hear these special sermons designed to bring us closer to the one who loves us and considers us precious in his sight.

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